Exeter was looking for a way to finish off Conestoga Valley Friday night in what was supposed to be a tune-up to set up a league championship game.
The Eagles and coach Matt Bauer needed to look no further than 6-6 wide receiver/tight end Joey Schlaffer for the answer.
Schlaffer took a direct snap out of the Wildcat and raced 91 yards to help undefeated Exeter pull away from visiting Conestoga Valley for a 38-10 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 football victory that cleared the way for a showdown with unbeaten Manheim Central.
“We needed a spark and we went to it,” Bauer said. “It was the right play call at the right time and Joey took care of the rest.”
Exeter (5-0, 9-0) will visit Manheim Central (5-0, 9-0) for the Section 2 title next Friday night. But Conestoga Valley (2-3, 4-5) made the tune-up a little too close for comfort at times.
Exeter, which led 21-3 at the half, couldn’t get its offense moving in the second half. The Buckskins had trimmed Exeter’s lead to 24-10 and forced a turnover to take over the Exeter 22 early in the fourth quarter.
But the Exeter defense pushed Conestoga Valley backward and forced a punt. When Exeter took over at its 9, Bauer called on Schlaffer to take the direct snap for the first time since the season opener.
“It’s another way to get the ball into my hands,” Schlaffer said. “You never know when it’s going to work.”
Schlaffer took the snap and raced 91 yards to pad Exeter’s lead to 31-10 with 9:04 left. Schlaffer, a Penn State commit, caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Mason Rotelli later in the fourth quarter to put it away.
Schlaffer finished with 91 yards rushing on his only carry and had five receptions for 128 yards.
“He’s one of our playmakers, he’s one of our leaders,” Bauer said. “He really stepped up tonight on both offense and defense.”
Schlaffer had a 48-yard reception on Exeter’s first drive that led to a 2-yard touchdown run by Richie Karstien. Karstien, who also scored on a 12-yard pass from Rotelli in the second quarter, finished with 126 yards from scrimmage.
But Karstein was banged up and left the game near the end of the first half. He wasn’t nearly as effective running the ball when he returned in the second half.
Without Karstien, the Eagles were able to finish a 70-yard drive to close out the first half with Rotelli scoring on a 2-yard run with 9 seconds to go.
Conestoga Valley stayed in it with a 56-yard TD pass from Macoy Kneisley to Jeff Fisher in the third quarter.
But the Exeter defense tightened after that before Schlaffer closed the door on the Buckskins.
Source: Berkshire mont
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